The land of ice and fire

The land of ice and fire or Iceland is an island in the North Atlantic between Greenland, the Faroe Islands and Norway. About 375.000 people live on this 103.000 km2 island. The name comes from the 11th century but before that the island was named Snæland (e. Snowland) because of all the snow.

Iceland is called the land of fire and ice because of it‘s unique and diverse landscape with glaciers, volcanoes and lava fields.

Baby It's Cold Outside

Iceland is a young and active land, the island is located on a hot spot which means there is a lot of volcanic activity because it‘s easier for the magma to transport from the mantle and crust. If this hotspot wasn‘t under the island, it wouldn‘t be above sea level. Other reason to why Iceland is such an active land is because it‘s location on a plate boundary on an ocean ridge where two large plates, the American plate and Eurasian plate, drift from each other. The plate boundaries lie all the way from Reykjanes Peninsula, through Hengill, up to the highlands by Langjökull, from there to north along Sprengisandur, around the Krafla area, north of Kelduhverfi and from there to the sea in north

Volcanic systems are a group of volcanoes that are connected to one magma chamber. Generally, there is a central volcano and is the most active part of the volcanic system. Most volcanic systems are formed by a main volcanic system and in Iceland there are 16 volcanic systems and 7 of them are main volcanic system.

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There are currently 32 active volcanoes in Iceland

There is no concrete number of how many eruptions has occurred in Iceland, but with evolution of time, better technology and research, it is possible to estimate when eruptions occurred even though some data is missing. The closer in time we get to present time the better and more detailed is the information. Today it‘s also easier to predict most volcanoes with increased amount of monitoring equipment. In 20th and 21st centuries there were 40 eruptions and all of them have.

Grímsvötn is the most active volcano system so most of the eruptions that has happened in the 20th and 21st centuries happen in Grímsvötn, after comes Hekla with 7 eruptions but that volcano is also very active.

It's Getting Hot In Here !

The largest eruption that has occurred in Iceland is at Eldgjá in the year 939. This eruption lasted for about 4 years and had volume lava of 20 km3. Since it happened such a long time ago there isn’t a lot of data, but it is known that this eruption had negative effect on the weather around the world and also harvest.

In the 21st century 5 eruptions have occurred, the latest one being in Krýsuvík (Geldingadalur). The eruptions all occurred in different volcanoes and the eruption time goes from 7 days and up to 261 and counting. The eruption in Geldingadalur is now the longest eruption in the 21st century.

When this StoryMap is being written the eruption in Geldingadalur is still ongoing.

Volcanic eruptions are very different in type depending on the type of magma that arises, how it reaches the surface and in what quantity. Iceland has a variety of types of eruptions. The types of eruption in the latest eruptions are three; effusive, explosive, and mixed.

Hekla and Eyjafjallajökull were mixed eruptions, Grímsvötn and Geldingadalir were effusive eruptions and Bárðarbunga explosive eruptions.

The 5 latest eruptions were all of varying duration and had different types of eruption which means they have different volume of lava. Bárðarbunga had the highest volume lava and Grímsvötn the lowest volume. Compared to the largest known eruption in history of Iceland these eruptions seem quite small. Because of the eruption in Geldingadalir hasn‘t finished the numbers could change, but for now it has the 2nd highest volume of lava.

The eruption in Geldingadalir is a small eruption that has the volume lava of 0,4 km3 and has been ongoing for >261 days. This eruption is a so called „tourist eruption“ because of how small it is and is publicly available.

Since it started there have been counted about 347.000 people at the eruption site. There are few factors that effect number of people each day such as weather, Covid rules and the eruptions behavior.

There are now three paths to walk up to the eruption site and enough parking spaces. Path A and B start at the same parking are but split up and then connect together at the eruption site with a view of the back of the crater, path A is 3,2 km long and path B is 3,3 km long and a bit harder with a steep path. Path C is 4 km long and ends at Stóri Hrútur with a view at the front of the crater.

When walking to the eruption site few things have to be prepared before the hike. Always start on checking the weather forecast and if the weather is not optimal then it‘s better to go later.

One important rule at the eruption site:

Do not walk on the lava !

Necessary equipment:

• Good hiking shoes
• Warm clothes and wind and waterproof outerwear
• Headlamp for when it gets darker
• Food if the stop is going to be long